Originally Posted by
ajax
It seems like this topic gets resurrected about every six months or so.
Every single country has happy immigration officers and every single country has grumpy ones.
Don't forget that there are hundreds of people every day who try to sneak illegally into the UK (or the US, or anywhere else). Most are probably here to work illegally, but some have more sinister motives. It's true.
(The other day I was stopped on the street by a guy who was asking directions. He was terrified and after a minute he told me he was in this country illegally and just wanted to go home. London is FULL of similar people.)
It's a bit like lounge access. A few months back on the BA board, a lounge attendant described a typical day manning the desks, in which literally dozens of people who were not entitled to lounge access tried to blag their way in, to no avail. You and I don't see this behaviour. We would never behave this way and don't know anyone who would, but obviously some people do.
I'm not saying that grumpy immigration agent behaviour is excusable, but at least it's understandable.
What I'd really like to know is what recourse travellers have against stroppy agents. My partner is from Pakistan and he occasionally gets an incredibly rough time re-entering the UK. Does anyone know how he can complain about stroppy agents? Is he entitled to speak with a supervisor?
I eventually made an official complaint against the person I dealt with because I felt like he was threatening me and trying to intimidate me. I emailed BAA who gave me a contact in the Home Office to write to. He eventually responded three months after the encounter with a lengthy letter that had little substance and marginally offered apologies for being intimidated.
Also, this thread is about a specific incident that happened in the UK. Do we need to talk about the US here? No...please start another thread for its own topic.